


Hey Baby, I Think I Wanna Marry You

by IsabelArmuelles



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Fluff and Angst, It’s pretty fluffy, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Strangers to Lovers, This Is Not Going To Go The Way You Think, also Nahyuck is in this bc they’re the cutest, pansexual Xuxi rights!, renjun is a sweetheart, there’s a wedding ring but no one is actually getting married, xuxi is a sad baby
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-13
Updated: 2019-04-13
Packaged: 2020-01-12 13:57:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,058
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18447983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IsabelArmuelles/pseuds/IsabelArmuelles
Summary: If you were to ask Yukhei how he wished to spend his Saturday, never in a million years would this situation cross his mind.





	Hey Baby, I Think I Wanna Marry You

**Author's Note:**

> hi!!! i finally had the will to finish this fic, since it has been in my drafts for god knows how long lol
> 
> i felt like i needed to contribute to the Yukren nation, so this one is dedicated to the Yukren Writers Club and my babies, Mabuhay gays♡
> 
> I hope you enjoy it!!!

Yukhei didn't expect things to turn out this way. He was a good guy, sometimes a bit loud and overwhelming, sure, but it was all in good nature. He knew his good karma was off the charts, since he always tried to be nice to everyone and be as sweet as possible, so the fact that this happened just left him even more sad and disappointed at life, and even at himself.

If you were to ask him how he wished to spend his Saturday, never in a million years would this situation cross his mind.

Here he was, stranded in the middle of an amusement park with no actual way to get back home, velvet ring box heavy inside his pocket and a lump inside his throat, making it hard for him to swallow down the hurt.

Honestly, he should've seen it coming. The signs were there, he was just too in love, too much of a fool to see them. The dryness in their texts, the constant distancing, the fewer touches, the increasing misunderstandings and the thousands of times Yukhei apologized for unknown reasons, being the only one trying to fix what they still had.

Seven years. That's how much time he spent cherishing his loved one, giving them his everything and loving them unconditionally. Ever since they were in seventh grade, they'd been together. Yukhei fell so madly in love at such a young age, all the jokes of 'not being old enough' and 'not knowing what he really wanted' just flew past his head. He'd been so sure.

Five minutes. That's all it took for everything to come crumbling down, Yukhei's years of effort just thrown off to the side, disposed by his lover like an empty candy wrapper. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The day was bright and warm, perfect for spending time outside, basking in the rays of sunshine. Yukhei had checked the weather app on his phone at least six times that morning, hoping everything would go according to plan. He patted down his pockets to make sure everything was in place. Apartment keys. Wallet. Phone. Ring box.

He sighed. His nerves were getting the best of him, the muscles on his back as tense as ever. But things were going to be okay.

Or so he thought.

Everything flowed smoothly. They got to the park early and ate some sweets for brunch. Yukhei felt happy, the warm feeling in his chest seemed to almost overwhelm him, and he decided he couldn't wait any longer. With shaky hands, he too the small velvet box and got down on one knee in front of his lover.

He got the reaction he least expected.

"Oh my God, Yukhei, what were you thinking?! We're still too young for this!" Yukhei's hands lowered, slowly closing the ring box. "What if I want to meet new people? What if it doesn't work out? I don't want to have this burden at such a young age!" What? Meet new people? but wasn't Yukhei enough? "I'm sorry, but I can't do this. I can't be with you like that, it's too much. You'll find someone better than me, I promise. But right now, I don't want this. I'm sorry, Yukhei."

"B-but I thought-"

"Get up, people are staring." they ordered, taking Yukhei by the arm and tugging him upwards. He stumbled still in shock.

"I-"

"Oh my gosh I can't believe you would embarrass me like that." His lover said, glancing around and covering their face.

In an attempt to get out of the spotlight, they decided to tug Yukhei towards some empty bathroom stalls so they could have some privacy.

Yukhei felt like crying. The hand wrapped around his wrist burned his skin, but he couldn't tear his hand away, as much as he wanted to.

"Look," his lover began once they were in a more secluded area, "I haven't... felt the same as before for a while, but I didn't know how to tell you. And then you pull this- this shit out of nowhere and-"

"It's not shit." Yukhei mumbled, looking at the ground.

"What?"

"I said, it's not shit." Yukhei spoke up, still avoiding eye contact. He knew if he stared right into the other's eyes his resolve would break. "I genuinely thought we would be together forever."

His lover scoffed. "You're too much of a dreamer."

"I was optimistic."

"You were delusional." That made Yukhei flinch. The other sighed, running a hand through their hair. "Look, since things turned out this way, we better make it official. I'm breaking up with you. I'll try to mail the stuff you left at my apartment to your dorm, and we'll officially part ways. No need to drag it out anymore."

Yukhei simply nodded. He couldn't hold them against their will, that was just wrong. Begging wasn't an option either.

"I guess this is it." Yukhei whispered.

"Yeah..." the other whispered back. "And I'm sorry I can't drive you back."

"It's okay. I'll find a way back home."

"Goodbye, Yukhei."

"Goodbye."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Maybe they were right. Getting engaged at the blooming age of twenty wasn't the best idea. But he'd been so sure, so ready to spend the rest of his life with them, it had seemed like a great plan...

He'd been sitting on a bench near a rollercoaster for what felt like an eternity, just staring at the ground and sulking, wondering about all the what if's and things that might have been, but it had only been around two hours. Yukhei felt tired, like all his energy had suddenly been sucked out of him. He sighed, pulling the ring box out of his pocket. Careful as ever, he opened the box to reveal a small golden band, simple yet lovely, just like what Yukhei considered their love to be.

It was simple. No major drama or anything, just two shy kids that fell for each other. But it was lovely, every gesture and touch, every word and shared look just showed how much love they had for each other.

Apparently, not anymore.

Yukhei's fingers ran over the soft velvet, picking the small ring up and staring at it intensely. It was very hard to find, since most wedding rings were completely out of his budget. He was only a mere college student, working a graveyard shift and saving it all just to buy that little ring. He wondered if the place would take pity on him and allow him to return it.

He placed the ring back inside the box to wipe the traitorous tears that escaped his eyes.

"Uh, excuse me, are you alright?" Someone asked, interrupting Yukhei's train of thoughts. He looked up to find a guy staring down at him, worried expression adorning his face.

He felt choked up, only able to hum and shake his head.

"Mind if I sit?" The boy pointed at the bench, offering a small smile. Yukhei nodded, scooting over to make space for his new companion. The boy sat down, letting his feet dangle off the bench, swinging them around slightly. Yukhei noticed the other was much shorter than him.

A few moments of silence passed, the sound of loud screams and children chatting filled the air. Yukhei was hunched over, simply playing with the velvet box, moving if from hand to hand. For some reason, the box felt heavy and wrong against his hand, like an ugly reminder. He averted his eyes from it.

"You know, I've never liked amusement parks, they're too loud and crowded. Plus, I can't stand bratty kids, they're annoying." The boy commented, eyes focused on a crying child that refused to listen to his mother.

Yukhei furrowed his brows. "Why are you here then?"

"My friend asked me to third-wheel his date with his crush, but things turned out so well I got ditched ten minutes after we got here." He explained, sharing a short look with Yukhei.

"That's not nice."

"It's not, but I ain't mad. He's been crushing on that guy for years now, I would've done the same if I were him." The boy chuckled.

Yuhkei gave him a small smile. "Fair enough."

Some seconds of silence passes before the boy extended his hand towards Yukhei, taking him by surprise. "I'm Renjun, what's your name?"

Yukhei hesitantly shook the boy's hand. "Yukhei."

"What brings you here, Yukhei?" Renjun asked, but Yukhei's falling expression made him back-track. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to..."

"No, it's okay." Yukhei said shaking his head. "It's kinda dumb anyways."

"I doubt it." Renjun assured, standing up and extending his hand again for Yukhei to take. "Wanna go eat some ice cream while you entertain me with your story? My treat." He offered.

A laugh bubbled out of his throat. "How could I say no to that?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Oh my god, what an ass! They definitely don't deserve you. They called you delusional? And they said the word 'burden'? Really? Seven years of relationship were a burden to them? A fool. A complete buffoon."

Yukhei laughed loudly, almost choking on his ice cream.

Renjun had dragged him out to a less crowded area inside the park, where a few stands of overpriced food stood next to a couple of picnic tables, some occupied with families and couples. Renjun ended up paying for the ice cream even after Yukhei tried to fight him for the receipt, claiming that it was the least he could do for a sad and heartbroken stranger sulking on a bench.

Renjun liked toppings more than the ice cream itself, Lucas noticed, staring at the small scoop of Vanilla Bliss inside Renjun's cup, barely noticeable under the pile of M&M's and Oreo crumbs the boy had poured on top.

"Guess they weren't the one for you." Renjun added as an afterthought, scooping more toppings than ice cream onto his spoon. "Can I see the ring?"

Yukhei nodded, pulling the box out of his pocket. He placed it on the table near Renjun's hand, and kept eating his own ice cream. A few spoonfuls later, he glanced up and-

Oh.

"It's really pretty." Renjun said, raising his hand so the sunlight would hit the gold band at the right spot. He glanced at Yukhei, showing him the ring on his finger and playfully wiggling his hand around. "How does it look?"

Yukhei smiled brightly. Renjun's small and thin fingers looked more delicate with the ring on, the contrast between his skin and the gold band complimenting each other. "Seems like a perfect fit." Yukhei said without thinking, soon realizing his mistake. Renjun laughed at Yukhei's red cheeks.

"Are you gonna give it back?" Renjun suddenly asked, taking it off and carefully placing it back inside the velvet box. He pushed it over to Yukhei's side of the table and took another scoop of his ice cream.

"I probably should, but I'm pretty sure they don't give refunds." Yukhei sighed, glaring at the box with no intention of taking it anytime soon.

"Where did you buy it?"

"Sun&Moon, why?"

"Yeah, you're fucked. One of my friends tried returning some ugly earrings his mom got him and the only thing he got back in return was getting banned from the store." Renjun explained, scooping up the remainings of his ice cream and licking the spoon. Yukhei sighed, banging his head against the table before letting out a loud, pathetic whine.

"I can't even sell it, it's just a simple wedding ring, no one would want that."

"Honestly? I would."

Yukhei raised his head, eyes wide and mouth slightly open. Renjun chuckled at the other's expression, reaching out for the small box and opening it. "the important thing clearly isn't the ring, it's the meaning behind it. Sure, it's simple, but if it's the right person proposing, it becomes the most beautiful ring to exist." Renjun playfully reached out for Yukhei's hand, taking his pinky finger and placing the ring onto the middle of his finger, his hand being too big for the ring to fit. "Sure, maybe you're too young to be thinking of marriage. But your feelings were genuine, which makes it a completely valid proposal." He kept on holding onto Yukhei's fingers, playing with them and intertwining their hands together. "Sucks that your feelings weren't reciprocated on the matter..."

Silence fell upon them, the sounds of the park becoming louder and filling out the atmosphere. Yukhei took his sweet time to admire Renjun. Not only was he funny and charming, but he seemed like a genuinely nice person. Not only that but, he was beautiful, breathtakingly so. His curly golden locks perfectly framed his face and pretty eyes, which seemed to basically sparkle all the time. His voice was truly adorable, soft and light, something that Yukhei found rather calming. The sadness he'd felt merely hours ago had completely vanished, leaving only a small, stinging sensation in his chest, which seemed to keep fading with every passing minute, all thanks to Renjun.

"I guess they really weren't the one for me." Yukhei said, slowly caressing Renjun's knuckles. The other raised a brow.

"For someone who got rejected and dumped, you seem awfully okay right now."

"Well, I apparently wasted seven years of my life according to them, so I'm not gonna waste more time sulking around, since it's pointless. I already cried enough."

"Yeah, they truly don't deserve you." Renjun huffed, squeezing Yukhei's hand lightly. Suddenly feeling bold, Yukhei took off the ring from his pinky finger and carefully took Renjun's hand in his, slipping the gold band on the boy's ring finger.

"It looks better on you anyway. It's yours."

"Oh no! I can't just-" Renjun began, but a look from Yukhei made him shut up. He glanced at the ring on his finger and then at Yukhei, smiling shyly. "Thank you."

Yukhei beamed back. "You're welcome."

"Renjun!" a deep voice suddenly screamed from somewhere behind them, making them both turn towards it. A boy with pink hair was waving enthusiastically at them, while the tanned brunette behind him smiled, amused.

They soon approached the table where Yukhei and Renjun were sitting, the pink boy clearly ready to start rambling about something, but his eyes fell on the forgotten velvet box on the table and his mouth snapped shut.

Renjun realized what what going through the boy's mind and tried to explain himself, hand flying up in a stop motion.

"Wait, it's not-"

The boy quickly took hold of one of Renjun's hands and gasped when he saw the ring. Yukhei and the brunette just watched in amusement.

"You got engaged and you didn't tell me?!" He glanced at Yukhei and gasped again. "And to a guy you never introduced to me! Renjun I thought we were best friends!"

"Jaemin you idiot, I'm not getting engaged. No one is getting engaged."

"But-"

"Jaemin, this is Yukhei, I met him a few hours ago here at the park." Renjun explained, shooting a half-hearted glare at his friend. "Yukhei, this is my best friend Jaemin and his date, Donghyuck."

"It's a pleasure." Donghyuck said, waving at Yukhei.

"Same here!" Yukhei answered.

"Wait." Jaemin said, shaking his head. "Wait. If you just met him, then why do you have a wedding ring on? Junnie, I know I told you last week you life was a bit boring, but don't you think this is a bit too much?"

Donghyuck let out a snort. Renjun glared. "I hate you so much."

Yukhei decided to butt in, since Renjun's eyes screamed murder and he didn't want to have to take care of the body of someone he just met. "The ring is mine, but I didn't propose to him. Actually, it's a really funny story, you see..."

After retelling the whole story and having to reassure a teary eyed Jaemin that Yukhei was, in fact, completely fine and not sulking anymore (and after a few comforting hugs from Donghyuck, bless that boy), Renjun offered to give Yukhei a ride back to his dorm, since Donghyuck lived nearby and they had to drop him off.

Yukhei sat on the passenger seat, staring out the window. The sky was slowly turning dark, the shades of orange mixing with pinks and purples, like something taken out of a painting. The ride back from the park was around forty-five minutes, so Jaemin and Donghyuck decided to get comfortable in the backseat and sleep for a bit.

Renjun's soft voice snapped Yukhei out of his sky-induced trance. "Something on your mind?"

"I don't know. I feel kind of lost."

"How so?"

Yukhei turned away from the window to glance at Renjun. The colors of the sunset gave his skin and hair a certain glow, much like a halo. Yukhei bit his lip before talking. "I've been in a relationship for almost half my life. I feel like I won't know how to function after this."

Renjun hummed, eyes never leaving the road. "I get that. You learned how to live with them in your life so now that you're alone, you feel like something's missing."

"Exactly. I don't know what to do."

"Move on, I guess." Renjun shrugged. "Sure, it's gonna be hard and there will be moments you'll wanna curl up and cry, but it's just the way life is. You just have to keep moving on, with or without them."

"Yeah, you're right." Yukhei let out a laugh, a bittersweet sound that made Renjun's heart ache for him. "I wish I had friends to help me through it at least. Most of our friends were closer to them, and some just dropped us after high school."

"Hey, you have me now."

Yukhei stared at him with eyes wide as plates. Renjun laughed softly, his eyes crinckling at the corners. "What? I'm serious, Yukhei. We only just met, but I can see that you're a great person. Very selfless too. And you need a friend, of course I'm gonna be there for you. For as long as you'll need me."

That was all Yukhei needed to hear. He felt his cheeks warm up and his heart grow three sizes, just by Renjun's comforting words. He reached out to grab one of Renjun's small hands, and carefully placed a small kiss on his knuckles.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome, Yukhei."

**Author's Note:**

> big thanks to the Renjun of my Hyuck, Erika (@takadactyl on twt) for being my beta and correcting my grammar!!! love u♡♡♡
> 
> come talk to me on twitter @IsabelArmuelles
> 
> thank you for reading!!!♡♡♡♡


End file.
